School Program

A practical program should benefit as many students as possible without overwhelming professional staff or busting the school budget. Expect significant benefits for the participating students, which should show up on the school achievement reports.

Teamwork

A recorded protocol can be used to present the strictly standard and repetitious aspects of the training, replacing fearful and pessimistic associations with a brighter and more optimistic outlook.

As the counselor you establish a relationship, assess test anxieties, talk to students about their experiences, build rapport, encourage participation, answer questions, inform parents, and support the students through the training.

Screening takes just a few minutes minutes, parents are supportive, several standard interventions reduce anxiety and improve grades, you can work with students in groups, and benefits are easily measurable.

An understanding school counselor and a technically proficient CD can make an excellent team.

Quick Start Here

1) Start with something manageable! You might begin with a few students, intervene, and find out how it goes. You will gain experience and you can figure out if you want to continue. If your school supports a larger program, go with it.

2) Choose your test anxiety reduction CD, or brush up on any standard anxiety reduction protocol that you would feel comfortable administering. Each Tame Test Anxiety CD purchased now includes license for a school to use the CD program with a total of 10 anxious students over the following 24 months.

3) Locate one or more test anxious students. Students seldom volunteer, so you must coral them and win their confidence. Use Scale to screen students.

5) Realize: that many students feel odd or conspicuous about being identified as test anxious, and feel awkward about participating in the initial intervention trainings. Your job is to coax them along.

6) Explain. Meet with anxious students individually or in a small group, which is more comfortable for students and affords you a greater amount of control. Talk to them about what the intervention experience will be like. Present sections of the interventions, ask students about their experiences.

7) Intervene. Present your CD or professionally administered protocol. Ask students about their experience with it. Repeat the protocol several times. The training calms fears, and students are much more comfortable with subsequent sessions.

8) After students take a few tests, ask them if they could tell a difference in their anxiety levels.

In a few short weeks, you will have conducted a pilot anxiety reduction program and looked at its benefits. You are now an experienced anxiety reduction professional.

Expand your program as interest and resources permit.

Expand Your Program

1. A larger program should have the support of a principal or key administrator. Everyone is extremely busy, and a test anxiety program takes time. Can you allocate twenty or forty hours to the program, and let go of a few of the other things you are being asked to do?

2. Choose a larger group of students to serve. You can select a grade level, or a specific program, or students who come for counseling for other matters.

3) Screen all students in our selected group for high anxiety.

4-7) Continue with the steps 4-7 in quick start guide above.

As with a high school musical, out of chaos it all comes together properly on opening night. The scenes follow one after another, we laugh off our mistakes, and everyone goes home happy.

Grammar School vs. High School & College

College students show substantial benefits, as do high school students as well. Several studies suggest that benefits may be about half that size for grammar school students. Additional reviews may improve gains for grammar school students.